Ahmedabad:
The Gujarat High Court has acquitted 12 people accused of murdering senior BJP leader and former Home Minister, Haren Pandya. It has also accused the CBI of mishandling the investigation.
"It is clear that the CBI had botched up. Their investigations left a lot to be desired. The Investigation Officer should be held responsible for lapses which has resulted in enormous wastage of public resource and money," the court said.
Mr Pandya was shot five times in Ahmedabad in 2003 while he was in his car near the Law Garden. A total of 19 people were named as accused in the case out of which 15 were arrested while four remained absconding.
The investigation was first carried out by the crime branch and was then handed over to Central Bureau of Investigation.
In 2007, the 12 people accused of his death were convicted by a local court under the Prevention of Terrorism Act (POTA); nine of them were sentenced to life in prison. All the convicts had appealed to the High Court.